The invention relates to music distribution. In certain embodiments, music is blanket transmitted (for example, via satellite downlink transmission) to each customer""s computer-based user station. Customers preselect from a list of available music in advance using an interactive screen selector, and pay only for music that they choose to record for unlimited playback. An antipiracy xe2x80x9cID tagxe2x80x9d is woven into the recorded music so that any illegal copies therefrom may be traced to the purchase transaction.
Current music distribution systems have numerous drawbacks that affect pricing, consumer satisfaction and the ability of music content providers to maximize the revenue potential of their music libraries. One distribution model, the conventional retail music store, requires high capital outlays for real estate (land and building) and high labor costs, both of which add greatly to the retail price of music recordings. Additionally, costs associated with ordering the recordings (e.g., CD""s), transporting the recordings to the store locations and maintaining inventory significantly add to the retail price of recordings for both retail store operations and mail order or xe2x80x9cmusic clubxe2x80x9d operations. In addition to the drawbacks mentioned above, music content providers would greatly benefit from a distribution system that makes all of their content, including older recordings, readily available at market clearing pricing.
The recent Internet music distribution model, typically based on MP3 technology, requires a customer go to an Internet site, select or be given a music selection, download reception software and a key, preview or purchase a selection, download a one-to-one encrypted (or not) compressed copy of the selection, decrypt the selection with software and play the selection on the consumer""s computer or write it to a CD, DVD, MD or digital player. The download is stored in some form on the customer""s hard drive.
There is an acute need in the music distribution industry for a system that will overcome problems inherent in current distribution models by providing each individual customer with ready access to thousands of recordings in a convenient low cost manner that fully satisfies user demand, while enhancing the economic incentives of music content providers to create and distribute an ever expanding offering of music.
Throughout the world today, piracy of software, music and video materials causes significant economic losses to the originators and distributors of these art forms.
Issues of music and video piracy are strongly influenced by the available recording technology. Early forms of music distribution utilized plastic records. The manufacture of records was relatively expensive, requiring the capital expense of record presses and creating metallic master molds. Mold costs had to be amortized over large numbers of copies. The cost of mold masters limited the potential profit from making and selling illegal copies.
With the development of magnetic tape recording, the cost of manufacturing copies became primarily the cost of the raw materials. Copies could be made directly from an original with costs split between the manufacture of a blank tape and the time required to record music on to each tape copy. The manufacture of lower numbers of copies for specialty music was possible and the costs of manufacturing (a pair of tape recorders and some blank tapes) made copying feasible for an individual. However, the degradation in quality from generation to generation of copies was a deterrent as well as the time required to record each copy. The degradation of the sound consisted of loss of high frequencies, a relatively poor signal-to-noise ratio of the recording (xe2x80x9chissxe2x80x9d) and tonal or volume variations due to mechanical transport of the tape across the recording head (xe2x80x9cwowxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cflutterxe2x80x9d).
Digital compact disk technology (CD""s) again changed the piracy situation by making available high-quality copies of music to consumers in digital form that could potentially be copied with no change or degradation of sound quality. CD""s use 16-bit, 44 KHz digital technology so that music recorded on a CD has excellent signal-to-noise ratio, flat frequency response that is wider than human hearing, and no constant or varying pitch distortion. The introduction of CD technology caused significant concern among content providers about the risks of circulating library-quality copies of their music. Small-scale piracy of CD""s became common as consumer music xe2x80x9cboxesxe2x80x9d were sold that had CD players feeding tape recorders. These units allowed CD""s to be easily copied although without the full sound quality and convenience of the original CD. On a larger scale, bulk pirate copies of CD""s were available, particularly in foreign countries, by companies using relatively expensive CD presses. The presses allowed exact copies of CD""s to be made from originals using inexpensive blanks. These same presses also allowed low-cost copying and duplication of software CD""s.
Very recently, concerns about music piracy have increased as low-cost CD writers became available to consumers making it possible for personal computers not only to read and play music CD""s, but also to make copies using relatively inexpensive writeable CD""s. Today CD writers are available for under $200 and CD blanks for less than $1 each. Coupled with multi giga-byte hard disks, copying and editing CD""s is widely available.
Today, the threat of copyright violation limits CD piracy. However, due to the cost of prosecution and the difficulty of tracing and confirming the origin of copies, this threat is only practically enforceable against major producers who are caught importing large quantities of CD""s, and not individuals or small-scale pirates (e.g., teenagers with computers). As the price of CD burners and writeable CD""s continues to fall, music piracy may result in increasing losses in revenue to content providers, especially if the teenage culture (that buys so many CD""s) embraces piracy and kids get used to seeing CD""s without boxes or colorful paintings on the CD""s.
A second technological revolution is also influencing piracy. This is the ability to xe2x80x9ccompressxe2x80x9d the amount of digital data needed to store or communicate music (or video). A one-hour music CD requires about 600 megabytes of data (16 bits/sample*44100 samples/sec*3600 sec*2 channels). This large amount of data has discouraged communication of CD""s over the Internet, and storage of the CD in hard drives. However, MPEG compression technology reduces the data capacity by a factor of 8 for CD music, making it easier and cheaper to communicate and store. As a result of compression technology it is now economically feasible to communicate music with CD quality over the Internet or to transmit it directly to consumer receivers from satellites. (Similar technology allows a 100-fold compression of video signals making direct-satellite TV and DVD recordings possible.) Furthermore, businesses that sell CD""s by shipping them as compressed data streams to a customer""s PC with a CD writer to make a final copy will make it common for CD""s not to have the elaborate paint jobs of store-sold CD""s and the potential to cause a sudden rise in piracy. It also should also be noted that compression depends upon and has caused powerful digital processing engines to be placed at reception sites for compressed audio or video. These engines make possible the running of protected software (protected software is software that runs the engine but can not be analyzed by outsiders to see how it works or does the encoding or decoding) that can be used for de-encryption or be capable of performing the processing necessary to add the more complex ID tags that can be used as an aspect of this invention.
Content providers are reluctant to make full-quality music available to consumers via direct satellite broadcasting or the Internet because of the risk that exact copies of their materials, their core asset, will leave their control and freely circulate among consumers resulting in huge losses in revenue to distributors and artists. This financial threat could weaken the recording and entertainment industry in the United States.
Another set of issues concerns the evolution of targeted advertising. Targeting is the presentation of material to pre-selected groups. For example, a new record thought to appeal to teenagers would be described by advertising in magazines teenagers read, TV shows they may watch or on radio stations they are likely to listen to. Because of the wide range of music types and preferences, targeted advertising is key to affordable, efficient advertising in the music industry.
Similarly, the trend for CD stores to allow potential customers to sample music releases is a method of allowing very specific sampling of possible choices of targeted advertising recognizing that customers rarely purchase without prior knowledge of the group, recommendations, advertisement, or hearing part of the music.
The present invention provides music distribution systems that are beneficial to all involved parties, namely consumers, content providers and data transmission providers. In certain embodiments, consumers are able to preselect music selections from thousands of CD""s that are transmitted daily. Customers of the music distribution system utilize a menu driven, graphical user interface with simplified controls that provide music selection by artist, title and category (e.g., jazz, classical, rock, etc.). Music content is blanket transmitted, preferably via direct broadcast satellite (DBS), in an encoded format directly to each customer""s receiving dish or antenna which is linked to the customer""s user station. The user station may store the content on a suitable intermediate storage medium such as a disk drive. The customer may xe2x80x9cpreviewxe2x80x9d the stored music for free and thereafter decide whether to purchase a permanent copy. If the purchase decision is made, a full quality CD is recorded via a CD writer that may be part of the user station. The customer is billed by the music distribution system operator. Antipiracy protection is provided by weaving an ID tag into the recorded music so that any illegal copies therefrom may be traced to the purchase transaction. An automated production facility may be provided to manufacture low-volume CD""s (i.e., CD""s that are not frequently requested) and distribute them by ground transportation, while the higher volume CD""s are distributed by satellite as described above.
Customer music preferences may be used to determine what content is stored in the limited space on their hard drive, and that content is immediately available, on demand, to the consumer. Customer preference information is thereby used to make use of limited broadcast bandwidth and system storage. This preference information is gleaned from information given by the user, and may be combined with demographic preference information collected from a population of customers.
The music distribution system of the present invention offers numerous advantages to consumers. For example, the invention provides a much greater selection of recordings than any typical retail music store or mail order operation. The invention also provides full access to the available recordings to those who live in geographically remote and/or sparsely populated areas that may presently have little or no access to retail music stores. The invention also provides full access to recordings to elderly and handicapped persons who are housebound. In addition to a larger selection and better access, the recordings (especially high demand recordings such as xe2x80x9ctop 25xe2x80x9d CD""s and new releases) are available on demand, subject only to the time period between placing an order and the next transmission of the ordered recording. Certain recordings, limited in number by the capacity of the intermediate storage medium (e.g., 80 CD""s) are instantly available for purchase.
The present invention also provides the ability to update music pricing at any time, for example on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, so that consumers can choose to order music at times when content providers offer pricing specials or incentives.
Music content providers realize increased income increased income because a significant portion of the existing content in their music libraries is available for sale every day. The invention also allows music content providers to change pricing at any time, e.g., daily/weekly/monthly, to optimize price vs. consumer demand. In this regard, content providers are allowed to meet consumer demand for a significant portion of the existing content inventory value every day. This provides an extremely high benefit by effectively allowing the market to clear (i.e., real demand matches supply), something that the current music distribution models do not provide.
According to the invention, music content providers are confident that they can distribute their music with extremely high security by avoiding distribution of content over open networks and open operating systems and through the use of appropriate encoding technology, including encryption/decryption and the use of ID tags that permit illegal copies to be traced.
Transmission providers (DBS satellite system providers, in preferred embodiments) realize the advantage of a significantly increased income base for supporting their services and the utilization of lower cost, off-peak time for transmission of a significant portion of the music.
This system also allows targeted advertising of specific recordings to persons of specific preferences. This advertising may be text, graphics or video on the customer""s screen or portions of music.